There are many strategies on this site that I never would have considered. Even with new tactics I've learned here I find that I (almost) ALWAYS do some things in my games and (almost) NEVER do others. I'm curious to see what other people always/never do and to find strategies that I'm missing. All this assumes single player games. For reference, I usually play on Monarch.

ALWAYS
Attack with Axemen and/or Swordsmen before Construction/catapults
Upgrade Catapults & Cannons with Barrage and count on them for suicide/collateral damage
Give Archers/Longbowmen City Garrison and don't use them in offensive armies (exception is an occasional Guerilla II)
Build Stonehenge
Use the GP from Stonehenge to build a religious shrine or to rush a tech to get a religion
Chop all trees on hills, along rivers, & plains with fresh water
Chop most grassland trees
(usually) Go to BW ASAP and time a worker so it pops out the turn before BW is discovered

NEVER
Build Explorers
Build Crossbowmen
Build horse units that aren't UU's (I hate not having City Raider promotions and they aren't good for defensive troops)
Build Musketmen
Give drill promotions (until tanks)
Give amphibious promotions
Use State Property (probably because I don't play enough large/huge maps)
Build watermills
"Save" forests to build lumbermills on them
Build Chichen Itza

I like my mounted archers. I like the way i can mass and react quickly with units of 2 movement. I hate getting pillaged.

I don't rely on mounted units much, since moving up to Prince though I've started make some use of Knights and Crossbowman. I try to get a few early victories with sword/axe men combo's then again with cats.

I don't use amphibious much (if at all). I try to get my force to the enemy lands then steam roll it until it's my land.

I RARELY if ever will build a musket man, next to never to be honest.

I do pay close attention to religion since controlling the holy cities and shrines = mucho dinero, muuuuuuucho dinero, especially if you control a dominant or widespread religion or two, easily funds military expansion.

Chichen Iza, yeah, only when I can't afford to build more units and have some time to kill, the city defense bonus occaisionally comes in handy I suppose, maybe.

I agree with much of that except that I, too, love the Horse Archer (and even the EARLY Chariot). The movement two means that I need less of them to cover my small empire from barb incursions. I'll have chariots with 3 or 4 promotions from killing barb archers and warriors and even axe. Upgraded to Horse (rare because of the large cost in the early game) or even left as Chariot, they can be quite effective when you are ready for your first war. I use the Retreat upgrade. The level 2 Retreat gives a very nice 50% chance. The reatreating unit still gets XP. Try it. You'll be impressed with how effective the lowly chariot can be. Send them against those City Defense-promoted Archers. They will retreat and take that archer down to 1HP.

Always:
Get Pottery ASAP (after BW) for cottage spamming.

(almost always) Build Pyramids & Great Lib.

Chop rush workers with same priority as the first few settlers.

Only get Archery if there is no Copper within reasonable reach.

(almost always) Build a 2nd Scout if I'm playing a civ that starts with a Scout. I have had some HUGE success with Scouts: free BronzeW, free IronW, free Writing, free Agr. Lots of gold. Free warriors. Free Scouts. Not to mention the map knowledge. They are indespensible actually.

Build Explorers when I have civics or buildings that will give them 2 upgrades out of the gate. First promotion: Strength. Second: Medic. Now you have a unit that can keep up with horse (and later tanks and other multi-movement units) and heal them on the way. INDESPENSIBLE especially if you can give them Medic II.

Keep at least 2 forests for health and later Lumber Mills and Rail.

Never:
Build workshops.
Build the Ironclads (whatever the name is).

I like to build Cavalry and give them Flanking I and II. You'll have a unit that withdraws more often than not meaning you're not spending as many shields rebuilding your offense. Mounted units are also ideally suited to pillaging.

If I'm Creative, there's no point in building Stonehenge.

Yeah - FLANKING is what I meant (not Retreat). I think that is an often under-valued, under-used promotion.

ALWAYS
- Leave 1-2 warriors guarding my cities until way too late into the game because I don't research archery because I want to get all the other cool stuff and who needs bows and arrows anyway which is why I can never win higher than Noble.
- Wait until well into the 1700's before even considering what I want to do about victory conditions which is why I never get cultural victories

OFTEN
- Adopt free religion really early because I can and because everyone hates me the turn before and loves me the turn afterward. If the real world worked that way, we'd constantly be attacking/attacked because of our beliefs in a never-ending spiral of religious intolerance. Hey, wait a minute...

SELDOM
- Go warmongering because the AI sees fit to give me an aggressive civilization with a good, early UU if and only if it also gives me an isolated island start with no copper or iron.

NEVER
- Get tired of starting a new game with all random settings because this version rocks!

I ALWAYS:
- hit F6, Bronze Working after founding my first city. (only to find out that there's no bronze on the ENTIRE ******* continent. (6 times in a row no bronze or iron on my continent, people))
- have a warrior in my capital city protecting it the entire game.
- always start worker-settler
- aim for the Oracle on levels below emperor
- chop rush
- carefully plan where to put my 2nd to 4th city
- try to get 2 commando's

I NEVER
- build ironclads
- build Chichen Itza
- cheat
- play terra because the AI doesn't realize there's another continent (which makes it very unfair.

I especialy like mounted units.

I would beeline for Animal Husbandry if Bronze Working didn't give so damn much.

Build Explorers
Explores can be useful in Terra maps, since they're really good at exlporing stuff. But then you have to worry about them being killed by hordes of barbs.

SELDOM
- Go warmongering because the AI sees fit to give me an aggressive civilization with a good, early UU if and only if it also gives me an isolated island start with no copper or iron.



you do realize you don't need a UU or an agressive civ to go warmongering. I rushed elizibeth with axmen/horse archers as GHANDI.

As to the horse unit comment. I love cavalry, but that's just a preference of warfare style (hate how they upgrade to gunships instead of tanks, have to rebuild my entire army, but it does have it's merits). anyway, here's my Always/Never


Always
-build a massive infrastructure of railroads
-seem to go to war because of a resource I don't have
-adopt representation, free trade, organized religion, serfordom, burocracy,
then universal sufferage, free speech, emancipation, state property, and free religion
-make friends with catherine
-kill the greeks
-kill the chinese
-fight a war with cavalry
-defend my nation with 2 SoD on 2 different fronts
-have a particular goal in mind
-Nuke Hiroshima and Nakasaki if they exist

Never
-require a large navy
-defend inner cities with a post ancient unit
-give tribute
-build cities in tundra (with one exeption, a city with 3 silver, 1 urainium, 1iron)
-use enviormentalism, theocracy, vassalage, police state, slavery (im a benevolent leader), or pacifism.

Always:
-Use State Property (if available).
-Leave as many forests as possible for later use.
-Build as many (rail)roads as possible; construct (rail)roads to future city sites.
-Pillage...pillage...pillage... (attack choppers are the best for this)
-Deny Cease Fires.
-Stockpile ICBMs.
-Build a massive airforce.
-Build the UN.
-Play Large Continent Maps.
-...or Terra.

Sometimes:
-Use Environmentalism.
-Use Police State.
-Nuke cities if I'm not patient enough for artillery to arrive.
-Raze holy cities.
-Rush to establish Judaism or Confucianism.
-Play isolationist.

Never:
-Use Theocracy. (I want all the religions I can get)
-Use Pacifism.
-Use Free Market.
-Use Vassalage.
-Keep anything I don't intend on using.
-Drop Research below 30%.
-Give in to AI demands.

Cool thread. My list is, of course, subject to change as I move up the game levels and find new tricks (currently enjoying success on Noble, probably go up to Prince soon):

ALWAYS
- Bee-line to Bronze Working for chopping, Axemen
- Chop all forests in each fat square except two for later health/lumbermills
- Build every National Wonder available
- Build a thorough road, then railroad network
- Found at least one religion
- Go to war with Isabella
- Build and use several of my Civ's UUs

USUALLY
- Fight an early war to wipe out my nearest rival--especially if we're on a continent by ourselves
- Avoid founding a city near too many flood plain tiles, as tempting as that is, unless I'm playing as an Expansive civ
- Build Great Library, Statue of Liberty, Broadway, Rock and Roll, Hollywood, Pentagon, Three Gorges Dam, Eiffel Tower
- Upgrade the most experienced units from an early war to riflemen, then infantry
- Don't build watermills or city walls

NEVER
- Build Chichen Itza, Angkor Wat, Stonehenge, Colussus...pretty much any early World Wonder
- Build workshops, obelisks, crossbowmen, musket men, grenadiers, or ironclads

Always:
-Listen to my son's laughs when he sees (again) that my capital's protection is just the lone warrior I built in 4000BC.
-Play Large maps.
-Build a lot of cities but capture even more.
-Start wars immediately after my third axeman comes out of the box, if I play an Aggressive civ.
-"Forget" to build any kind of wooden ship when playing in Pangea maps.
-"Forget" to build mounted units before knights, and then "forget" to build melee units forever.
-Build the Pyramids and the Stonehedge, but forget anything that has to do with religion until much later.
-Surprise at least one civ with axes, one with cavalries, and one with Tanks.
-Manage to have at least 6 Infantry units with City Raider 3 - they are cool.
-After declaring war, I always give AI enough time to bring his troops into my territory for their death - it is so much easier this way! Only exception: if AI is just left with 2 cities and is ready to die.

Never:
-Build explorers, ironclads, Angkor, Chichen, and first of all VERSAILLES.
-Attack another civ at cases I predict a stalemate - when I attack, it ends quickly.

"I especialy like mounted units.

I would beeline for Animal Husbandry if Bronze Working didn't give so damn much. "

Same one of the things that keeps horse archers down is that in addition to axemen, in addition to chopping down forest, you get pop rushing with bronze working. Thats just silly.

Slavery should be with horse archers i think for best game play. Then you would have a "pop rushing/ horse arching" choice versus a "tree chopping /axemen city raider" choice which i think would be alot more interesting.

Oh, I forgot...

I also always use spies before modern conflicts. I send them in to investigate, sabotage various improvements (for a moderate cost), and get as much information on cities as possible.

I useally play Monarch to, but my list is different.

ALWAYS
Attack with Axemen and/or Swordsmen before Construction/catapults - yes
Upgrade Catapults & Cannons with Barrage and count on them for suicide/collateral damage - No, I like city raider one's.
Give Archers/Longbowmen City Garrison and don't use them in offensive armies (exception is an occasional Guerilla II)- No, often I use archers to attack barb archer on open and for busters. For attacking they getting first strike promotions. For for busting - Guerilla. Long and archrs get GUerilla for stack defence.
Build Stonehenge - not often, only if waranted.
Use the GP from Stonehenge to build a religious shrine or to rush a tech to get a religion- only as situation, some times it just become supperspecialist.
Chop all trees on hills, along rivers, & plains with fresh water
Chop most grassland trees.--- Actially I chop grasland, but often elave lot of trees if health needed.
(usually) Go to BW ASAP and time a worker so it pops out the turn before BW is discovered- yes

NEVER
Build Explorers - I build them. Galey time exploration and cyicide/scouts.
Build Crossbowmen - build if behind in military tech, usefull agains Macemans.
Build horse units that aren't UU's (I hate not having City Raider promotions and they aren't good for defensive troops) - yes
Build Musketmen- try it, actially at that time I get Nationalism and draft them.
Give drill promotions (until tanks) - true
Give amphibious promotions- true
Use State Property (probably because I don't play enough large/huge maps)-true
Build watermills- I build them in later cities destignate as industrial.
"Save" forests to build lumbermills on them
Build Chichen Itza - build it, if I can cheaply and want more GP points.

Actially what I never did but wanted to try is to finance my empire by pillaging-raising in distant war. Just capturing near by cities allway seems to be a better option.

Always: Oracle
other than that I like to try most of the stragies on this sight

Always
Lose track of my cities after a couple wars (especially if I play one of the native civs where they all sound like giberish anyways)
Hold off on national epic until I determine where it will help but not block a better national wonder combo, by which time it is too late to help.
Try to found two or three religions first
Have double anyone's culture and a third their power. (Oh sure, attack me because your people like me better than you!)

Usually
Avoid continents and archepeligo (sp?) maps, because ships can't carry enough to make wars any fun.

Always:
- Beeline for BW (gee wonder why)
- Beeline for Writing (library) and alphabet (trading all the techs you skipped) after BW
- Add 2 specialist scientists to library as soon as it finishes (if there is a food bonus resource) to force an early acadamy
- Usually try to Oracle slingshot to Civil Survice for Bureaucracy and to found Confusionism
- Go worker, warrior, worker, warrior, settler in my first city (with a little help from chopping and switching between warriors and worker/settler so the latter get the chop hammers), using the first warrior as additional scout and the 2nd warrior to defend city. Usually use the first warrior for fog gazing when barbs are suppossed to come wondering about.
- Chop 2 more workers in my 2nd city. Four workers is a good number to start your first 5-7 cities with.
- Try to create a good production city as one of my first 2-3 cities for wonders/units
- Try to build Great Library, Pyramids or Oracle, depending on the AI
- Never build Stonehenge UNLESS I have stone really close
- Try to create a cottagecity for science/gold
- Try to avoid going to war as much as possible till my economy/cities are strong and I'm prepared
- End the game with the first warrior I ever build still fortified in my starting city
- Suck at diplomacy

ALWAYS:
Beeline for pottery then BW then CoL
Try to build the Oracle
Debate whether or not to steal a worker from a nearby civ
Aim for an uber-commerce capital
Get maces asap
Debate too long whether or not to use them, and usually lose a good deal of my initiative
Get screwed up if I found one of the early religions and make too many friends
Get screwed up if I adopt Conf when I found it (90% of the time) and make too many enemies
Overestimate how quickly I can advance to a modern economy
Panic after I take out 1-2 nearby enemies and stop far too long to rebuild my economy losing my military tech advantage.
Remember to bring Garrisons for new cities

NEVER
Build Angor Wat, Spiral Minaret, Sistine Chapel, Parthenon
Build an Archer
Get Horseback Riding via my own discovery
Build mounted units unless its a UU or I have no metals
Play as the Greeks or Persians
Build enough military if my commercial start is too good or my neighbors are too close

Always:
Build a strong navy.
Use amphibious upgrade
Build lots of grenadiers
Use Vassalage, Theocracy, free market
Build the pyramids and get representation
Found my own religion, preferably Christianity or Islam.
Build the hanging gardens where the pyramids are. (I love my Great Engineers)
Rush to Astronomy & gunpowder, ignore medieval era.
Play peaceful until some bastard tries to kill me, then I use my invincible galleons, frigates and amphibious grenadier/riflemen assault trick.
Open borders often, except with my next door neighbours.
Spread my religion

Never:
Build medieval units.
Start a war first.
Backstab an ally.
use mounted units unless its UU (I really love that Keshik)
give into demands.
quit multiplayer games before my last city is razed.
go the culture route.
play as the Chinese
chop rush

Here's mine

Always
Secretly build my military untill I can make tanks
Be friendly to all civs, then attack one without warning
Automate workers to the nearest city
Hoard nukes
Be Germans...I like Panzers

Never
Build Ironclads or Explorers

For me
Always > goto bed 2 hours later than I should playing Civ or reading Civ fanatics strategy forums

Never > spend enough "quality time" with my girlfriend doing "boring" stuff

Well... the "never" and "allways" varies a lot... in fact so much that it can become exactly the opposite, depending on difficulty, map size, game speed...
But... it's CIV, you know? :D
e.g.:
Normal speed: never built a musketman or ironclad
Marathon: build a lot of 'em... :)
Difficulty: prince and below: allways try to get an early religion, never care about politics...
Monarch and above: never intrested in early religions, allways pick allies with great care...

etc.

Wow, so many of you never build certain wonders like Chichen, Angkor or others...why? They are useful, if you use them well :)

I don't have many "always" strategies, perhaps mainly that I try to play peaceful.

I have never used state property, because I consider it ugly, even somewhat of an exploit. Tiles giving more food, but when I go out of SP my population suddely starves? Nah, not with me.
More strategy, I never have "must get" wonders. I'm happy if I get one I like, but I don't rely on them.

Always:
Play at least 4 hours of civ a day.

Never:
Play less than 4 hours of civ a day.

Monarch, Normal speed, Standart size, Single player

Always:
Build Stonehenge if Im not Creative OR I have stone
Build Oracle if I have marble
Build the pyramids and get representation
Switch to Representation+Slavery, Free Religion + Free speech + Free markets, Emancipation + State Property, Universal Sufferage (if Im commercial OR/AND only 6-8 techs left undiscovered) + move science rate down
Replace in later game: river farms -> watermills (in production cities) , mines (no resources) -> windmills, not irrigated farms (and no way to irrigate) -> workshops (after Biology + State Property, in production cities). Of course where are exceptions for each case depending on food situation in a city.
Built a lot of Cavalry and Cannons (the first are pretty good to kill wounded units even in tank-era and promote them as Medics, the second are very useful in their time)


Never:
Build workshops until State Property
Build watermills & windmills before Repl.Parts
Switch civics more than listed before (if not Spiritual)

ALWAYS
- Build early wonders if I'm industrious and have stone
- Get the urge to start a war in the middle ages, if I haven't had one already.
- Eliminate an adjacent civ as early as possible (especially if it's Monty, Toku or Alex)
- Found Buddhism if I start with Mysticism

NEVER
- Build early wonders if I'm not industrious and don't have stone
- Build enough catapults
- Build Explorers (I know -- they make great medics...)

Always..:confused:

There is nothing I always do. Depends on the map.

Infact I have used may of the wonders peeps say are worthless such (Chichen Itza)and it can be very usefull given the situation.

I love horse units of any type nothing like pillaging important rescourses and roads of enemies.

I have aswell had games wear iron clads and explorers where key componants to my victory.:eek:

Attacking from the ocean can be very good way to take enemy city, amphibias upgrade has its place as well.

Never say Never....

Never achieve anything else than conquest or domination.

Monarch/Emperor SP

Always play sm islands/islands/archipelago (in that order of preference)
Never play pangea

Always play standard/small/tiny
Never play Huge/Large

Always invade a neighbour asap
Never wait till you have to have catapults for your first conquest

Always play marathon
Never play normal or quick

Always play a creative civ
Never bother playing an aggressive civ

Always look for first city site to be a high production site.
Never feel embarrased to 'regenerate map' if the start looks crappy

Always send a work boat out to circumnav the world (and meet neighbours)
Never forget the extra movement point from circumnav

Always get alpha and trade for early techs
Never trade techs post mid game when you should be ahead anyway.

Always create least 3 really good production citys.
Never worry about commerce citys, just invade and take.

Always use workers to hook up the resources and chop first
Never worry if you don't get round to building a cottage before 1AD

Always try for Great Lighthouse and Collosus in the same city
Never bother with Pyramids

Always get a score better than 20K
Never get a score better than 50K

But what the heck,, its only a game......

I disagree with the statement that you should never build crossbowmen. They are really good units, have strength 6 + 50% versus melee units. My key strategy is to build The Pyramids early on which will give you a Great Engineer by 1AD. Use this person to discover 90% of the Machinery tech which gives you crossbowmen, build windmills and watermills, etc. If you can build crossbowmen by 1AD then you can build a horde of these guys to wipe out any barbarians and aggressive players/AI. Plus if you give them the Shock promotion they get a further +25% against melee units, giving them a total strength of 10.5, enough to deal with any almost any pre-gunpowder units. Greath for defending cities from melee units, since virtually nobody attacks with archers!

Don't bother founding a religion if you build the pyramids. The happiness you get from using the representation civic outweighs any religous benefits.

Don't bother founding a religion if you build the pyramids. The happiness you get from using the representation civic outweighs any religous benefits.

I also take an "athiest" route sometimes, but what about the commerce from the holy city? or do you just go on a crusade:king: ?

Nice thread.
Here you see how many different styles you can use.
Last week, i would have had a lot of "always" and "nevers", but i tried to improve my skill by using the GotM spoilers (thank you hendrickzoon), and now i'm confused (what i did for my last game is almost opposite to what i did before!).

Still a few :
ALWAYS
- go for music ASAP (free Great Artist)
- go for liberalism ASAP (free tech)
- go for physics ASAP (free scientist)
- whip a culture building first in conquered cities
- forget to garison anything else than an warrior and whip an archer/longbow at the very last moment when barbs have rampaged everything

NEVER
- build enough workers (most games I build 2 workers for the whole game)
- build enough cottages (usually i have in the end less than 10 towns for the whole map)
- build enough settlers (most games I build 2 settlers in the first 200 turns, sometimes i build a few in the end to get the domination ratio)

Never: develop a specialist based economy. It's something I keep meaning to try at some point.

Always:
-get liberalism first (or try to)
-save forests for later in game (probably why I don't win much at prince)
-land grab early and hope research doesn't get too low
-play everything random
-get whipped on prince level, win on noble level

Never:
-am never first at circumnavigating the world, usually I'm last to discover caravels
-try to win culturally
-build nukes
-research/build calvary (rather head for tanks)
-build castles (although I'm starting to like them on border towns)
-build forts
-build workshops
-build waterwheels

Always:
- Attempt to get techs that grant free Great People and discoveries such as Music, Physics and Liberalism.
- Chop every forest visible, preferably for workers / settlers / wonders
- Whip Granaries in new cities unless conquered and under cultural pressure in which case I whip a culture building, typically a Theatre
- Play standard size or smaller. Anything larger gets too boring and choppy during the mid / end game.
- Build Stonehenge if I am not playing a creative civ or I have stone
- Attempt to found an early religion and build a shrine ASAP if I build Stonehenge (Great Prophet points)
- Try to build other ancient wonders in different cities if I want a Great Prophet and build Stonehenge
- Beeline to BW pretty much right at the start except in certain circumstances (eg. Seafood in the capitol's fat cross, in which case I go for Fishing)
- Build Worker / Worker / Settler, unless I have Seafood nearby in which case I build a Work Boat and make the capitol grow.
- Make Alphabet a high priority after having BW and the crucial early worker techs that I need. Tech brokering rocks :cool:
- Attempt to circumnavigate the world (nearly always, I lost it to Washington last game :mad:)

Never:
- Win through culture
- Use mounted units (perhaps not never but rarely)
- Build Workshops and Watermills pre-SP
- Build Forts (I have NEVER made one :p)
- Build Walls / Castles (I probably should build some Walls in border cities if the air smells of early war)
- Build nukes (blech)
- Build enough Settlers (I only get a few cities out at the start and then let my neighbours grab all of the land)
- Automate workers other than for creating trade networks once ALL improvements in ALL cities are built

For me
Always > goto bed 2 hours later than I should playing Civ or reading Civ fanatics strategy forums

Never > spend enough "quality time" with my girlfriend doing "boring" stuff

same here:goodjob:

Always:

- Build SH first, then Ora and Pyr if possible in early game
- Beeline for BW and chop my way into an early city/pop lead
- Chop wonders
- Defend against barbs w/archers
- Take barb cites
- Attack first w/swordsmen + catapult; then with cav + catapult/cannon; then with tank/marine/bomber; then with MA/stealth
- Build defender, worker in new cities (only move to worker when city is size 2)
- don't ever build a settler until I've built a worker and another unit/bldg. in new cities
- attempt to discover bonus-netting techs first (music, liberalism, physics, fusion)
- go on a rampage if I don't get coal
- " " " " " " " " aluminum
- automate workers (w/don't chop/don't overwrite improvements) when initial empire is fully improved; update manually with biology
- Try to pull in an ally against a civ that declares war

Never:

- Build horse-archers
- Build explorers - even for medic reason - find Marines much more suited for this purpose until MI
- Whip, unless unhealthiness is a major problem
- Nuke, though I do build some in case I get really pissed ;)
- Go for conquest over domination - I don't raze cities at all
- Trade military techs to AI, unless I don't have a (diplomatic) choice
- Agree to open-border agreements in the early game - :rolleyes:

Horse archers are awesome if you have a close source of horses. A bunch of horse archers conquer an empire much faster than swords

you're missing a good ol'axe rush...you can take cities w/up to 50% def w/5 or 6 axes

whipping, too, is great!

Try this one:

1. Build the Manhattan project.
2. Nuke a couple enemies.
3. Build the United Nations.

:)

Always:
- Find a source of bronze, horses and/or iron ASAP
- Try to wipe out my nearest neighbor
- Try to found Confucianism
- Use Theology and Vassalage while building an army
- Prioritize Assembly Line
- Expand as much as possible before units go on strike in early-mid game if at all possible, then try to supercharge the economy with cottage spam, courthouses, currency, markets, & harbors
- get Kremlin and Pentagon
- put Heroic epic and West Point together

Never (or almost):
- Get a religion before Code of Laws
- Try space race victories
- Upgrade units below 11 xp with cash
- prioritize wonders not specified above (I'll build them if I have excess production, but I won't sacrifice for them)
- use Cultural slider
- use GP to discover tech other than to found a religion

My bad habits:

Always

Play huge maps with as many opponents as possible.
Play domination/conquest victory only.
Expand as fast as possible towards enemies, then back-fill the land that is safely behind me.
Plan where I will build 2/3 cities in advance.
Aim to have at least 2 Mech. Infantry + 1 SAM Infantry in every one of my 50 cities
Attack with a mass army of Modern Armor with +2 City Attack, backed up by Stealth Bombers
Put my culture up to 70%+ and research down to 0 or 10% (depending on amount of money coming in) as soon as I've discovered Future Tech 1
Spread as many religions to as many cities as possible
Build cities next to opponents' borders and try to steal their land through culture
Have railroad on almost every square on the map that is mine.Never

Attack aggressively until at least after gunpowder
Build ironclads, horse archers, warriors, WWII planes, explorers, marines, cannons, calapults, artillery or UU's
Use nukes
Raze cities unless they are built in a really stupid place, like 2 squares away from another city that I want to keep.
Promote flanking or more than one medicLoads more I cant think of right now

Always -
-use great people to discover techs only at the ancient and medieval times.
-build theaters in captured cities.
-build theaters in my own cities anyway
-build cities next to rivers, or important resources
-avoid jungles like the plague
-discover liberalism as fast as possible, without skipping important techs in the process
-if I discover liberalism first, I'll probably get astronomy s my free tech.
-build 6 to 7 workers
-automate workers only when I can't find anything else to do. Usually around industrial or reinassance.
-always have the 'workers leave old improvements and forests alone' box checked.
-build forges and factories asap
-build the internet

Never
-build too many cottages only to find the city is not growing in the 1st place.
-fight stronger countries
-declare war for the hell of it, I only do it if there is a real advantage
-trust Montezuma or Isabella.
-Declare war on Mansa Musa
-accept peace treaties unless they offer some techs, only to declare them war again 10 turns later
-build jails

Never
-build too many cottages only to find the city is not growing in the 1st place.
...
-trust Montezuma or Isabella.
-Declare war on Mansa Musa
...
-build jails

I forgot those, but same for me : i've never built a jail, and almost never declared war on Mansa Musa (my tech broker friend). Also, when my troops start to become eager for a fight, i usually go for isabella or montezuma first (they would sneak attack me anyway)

I Always spam cottages on rivers, chop trees for wonders and settlers, Declare war early and often, and i always go for an early religion.

I Never build ironclads, adopt another civs state religion, adopt caste system, and play certain civs.

I usually dont research medicine into very very very late into the game.

Always:
- Go for CS slingshot if I have gold in capital
- Assemble a horde of axes to take out my nearest opponent early
- Chop my first 3-4 settlers
- Build West Point and Heroic Epic/Ironworks in the same city
- Build Kremlin
- Create as much commerce as humanly possible

Never:
- Start a war without knowing I will win
- Trade "current" military techs to AI
- Use a spy to sabotage
- Allow my military to fall significantly behind AI after 1000ish AD

Always-

use the same civics (Representation until universal sufferage, vassalage, slavery until emancipation, Mercantilism and theocracy)

-beeline for macemen, then riflemen.
-Always war early.
-Always stockpile nukes.
-Always build hoover dam.
-Always overestimate how many units i'll need.
-Always fail miserably in making friends with the right civs.
-Always make friends with a useless backwards civ that won't help in my wars.
-Always try for domination.
-Always keep my capital defended soley by warriors or quechuas.

-Always build hoover dam.
Always mix up my versions of Civ!!

ALWAYS
-Get Universal Suffrage, Free Speech, Emancipation, State Property, Free Religion
-Take or get a holy city (try to get the largest religion)
-get BW for copper, and IW for iron, then get Writing and Alphabet (to trade techs for others i missed)
-Get statue of Liberty on pangaea and continents, get colossus on archipelago
-play catherine, frederick or monty (just for fun):lol:
-take off domination vic.
-get COTTAGES LOTS AND LOTS, ALWAYS
NEVER
-chop rush (i like my green trees:nya:)
-get explorers
-get environmentalism and police state
-comply when civs ask to stop trades/go to war
-Go below 30% science
-lose :king:

My bad habits:

Never


Build ironclads, horse archers, warriors, WWII planes, explorers, marines, cannons, calapults, artillery or UU's


How do you take cities without using any catapults/cannons/artillery? Do you just suicide units at 80% defence?


- go on a rampage if I don't get coal
- " " " " " " " " aluminum


Haha, my last game ended up as a domination instead of a spacerace as I discovered that my entire half of the map had no aluminiun. I was planning on just taking one neighbouring city with aluminium but just spammed tanks at everyone until they all died and won domination :lol:

Interesting thread! I was hard pressed to think of "always/never", so I added a some "almost nevers":

Always:

- chop most trees (usually all, unless health is a problem)
- build lots of cottages in my core cities

Never:

- build an explorer, crossbowman, machine gun, musketman, navy seal, fixed wing aircraft, submarine, ICBM, or a fort
- build Chichen, Broadway, Eiffel Tower, Hollywood, Kremlin, Rock & Roll,

I almost never:

- research past miltrad, steel, and liberalism - I only will if I'm going for spaceship (and I rarely do)
- discover oil or coal
- build flying machines of any kind
- build any offensive ships (other than the odd destroyer to act as an escort if I absolutely need transports)
- build Angkor Wat, Hagia Sofia, Pentagon, Spiral Minaret, Statue of Liberty, Three Gorges, United Nations
- switch to any of the Economy civics

Always:

Nothing


Never:

Nothing. Il enjoy seeing how the game plays out with different approaches.


Usually:

Prioritise food techs over bronzeworking
Aim to get liberalism first

My bad habits:

Always

Play huge maps with as many opponents as possible.
Play domination/conquest victory only.
Expand as fast as possible towards enemies, then back-fill the land that is safely behind me.
Plan where I will build 2/3 cities in advance.
Aim to have at least 2 Mech. Infantry + 1 SAM Infantry in every one of my 50 cities
Attack with a mass army of Modern Armor with +2 City Attack, backed up by Stealth Bombers
Put my culture up to 70%+ and research down to 0 or 10% (depending on amount of money coming in) as soon as I've discovered Future Tech 1
Spread as many religions to as many cities as possible
Build cities next to opponents' borders and try to steal their land through culture
Have railroad on almost every square on the map that is mine.Never

Attack aggressively until at least after gunpowder
Build ironclads, horse archers, warriors, WWII planes, explorers, marines, cannons, calapults, artillery or UU's
Use nukes
Raze cities unless they are built in a really stupid place, like 2 squares away from another city that I want to keep.
Promote flanking or more than one medicLoads more I cant think of right now

You seriously never build catapults or warriors? You arent a very good player.

Playing emperor:

ALWAYS
Wait until the diplomatic situation is clear before warring, usually post-axe/sword.
Upgrade Catapults & Cannons with Accuracy and City Raider for greater survivability and thus upgradability
Give Archers/Longbowmen City Garrison to defend cities, take one xbow in early offensive stacks for defense against axe/mace counters.
Build early wonders based on traits/resources
Use early GP's for super-specialists, academies, key wonders
Chop all trees on hills, along rivers, & plains with fresh water
Leave two trees for health
Build worker first and make sure to research the techs to keep him busy.
If warring early, use HA's to mop up injured enemy units without exposing my units to counters. Use HA's bonus vs. cats to prevent taking collateral damage by attacking them first.

NEVER
say never

You seriously never build catapults or warriors? You arent a very good player.
I think he forgot "Always play on Chieftain level"

Lordy ... I do just about the opposite of jimbob! :eek:

Always use the same civics (Representation until universal sufferage, vassalage, slavery until emancipation, Mercantilism and theocracy)Constantly shuffle around my civics and often my religion (depends upon Isabella and Montezuma).

beeline for macemen, then riflemen.Beeline for Longbows then Grenadiers.

Always war early.Unless playing the Romans, I usually don't war early, or at least initiate it. *** I know, this is not a good thing! ***

Always stockpile nukes.Never built them.

Always build hoover dam.lol ... Refer ownedbyakorat's post.

Always try for domination.I usually start the game aiming for Domination, and end up heading towards either Cultural or Space. :shake:

Always keep my capital defended soley by warriors or quechuas.Never, ever, ever again! :hammer2:

I (at least lately) always;
Attempt to pick up Hinduism along the way to the double Great Prophet slingshot through Stonehenge > Code of Laws > Civil Service.
Go after the super-science city by bee-lining Literacy / The Great Library after getting the basic worker technologies plus Meditation.
Count food requirements of cities to avoid 'over-cottaging'.
Chase after The Kremlin.
Have least one-third of my cities as 'unit pumps'.
Chop Courthouses in new cities wherever practicable.
Play a financial Civ, the Romans, or the Arabians ... well, pretty much always.
Switch to the Universal Suffrage and the Free Speech civics once accessable unless I'm in the middle of a war, or planning a war in the next ten turns (n.b. I usually don't chase The Pyramids re. Universal Suffrage).
I (at least lately) never;
Have won by Conquest.
Research Divine Right or Fascism.
Build nukes.
Voluntarily switch to Environmentalism.
Therefore, to summerise the 'strategy' ... it's typically the capital goes for Stonehenge while gradually improving the tiles as worker tech's are learnt and Settlers and Workers are slotted into the queue. Hopefully pick up Hinduism and build a Temple for specialist priest. Meet my neighbours; Montezuma, Tokugawa and Isabella. Use Great Prophets on Code of Laws and Civil Service. The next one builds a Shrine. Head towards The Great Library while there a measured sprawl of other cities producing Workers, a Courthouse, and Settlers. Fog bust to contain Barbarian 'issues'. Have a crisis when I realise that I have a miserable military, so go through a period of pumping out Longbows everywhere while again kicking myself for not instigating an Axeman rush fifty turns prior. Put a greater emphasis on specialisation, and consider a Medieval war. Aim for the Oxford University in the science city. Address victory type depending upon how Medieval war went. Regardless, aim for The Kremlin.

*** I know, this is not a good thing! ***

I beg to differ. Why waste all those resources killing AI troops when its more efficient to let the AI do it for you, before swooping in to gather the spoils?

*** I know, this is not a good thing! ***

I beg to differ. Why waste all those resources killing AI troops when its more efficient to let the AI do it for you, before swooping in to gather the spoils?

to get the lion's share, you need to be the lion, not the hyena

I have a simple strategy that I've used since my first days with the civ franchise.

ALWAYS
- Pick a civ I like (historically) regardless of its traits and number crunching
NEVER
- Regenerate Map

-Alex-

I don't know why a few of you don't build Broadway, Hollywood, Eiffel tower and some of the wonders, I find them useful. even though the other wonders might not be that useful, I find that the culture generated by them helps.

I Never:
build explorers: by the time those come around on tiny maps, I've explored the land or traded maps for them anyway.
build workshop, watermill, windmill, well (the water one, not the oil well), and lumberyard. I think I was kind of told not to build those as they aren't worth it.
build a large navy: I've been doing Pangaea maps lately anyway.
as for not building ironclads, thats really logical actually since more advanced destroyers and battleships are right around the corner technologically.

ALWAYS
Play China, Continents, Small, Prince
Discovery Bronze Working, Mysticism
Build Warrior, Worker
Chop trees to build Settler and Stonehenge
Build Cavalry for near last Attack Army

NEVER
Build Scort, Ironclad, ICBM
Attack before Catapult

ALWAYS
Play China, Continents, Small, Prince
Discovery Bronze Working, Mysticism
Build Warrior, Worker
Chop trees to build Settler and Stonehenge
Build Cavalry for near last Attack Army

NEVER
Build Scort, Ironclad, ICBM
Attack before Catapult

don't you feel you always play the same game?
i really enjoy different leaders, different maps,...

I hope I can win all games play China even in Prince Level, but I still can't, so I don't have other time to play other civs:)
Now I am playing a Standard map, but still China. A lot of players said China civ is not a best choice in civ4, I try to prove it is not right.

I hope I can win all games play China even in Prince Level, but I still can't, so I don't have other time to play other civs:)
Now I am playing a Standard map, but still China. A lot of players said China civ is not a best choice in civ4, I try to prove it is not right.

well, many praise the cho ko nu and the traits of Quin
Not too challenging. Playing Mao is more of a challenge in my eyes.

Pretty useful reading here.

I almost always spam as many wonders as possible especially oracle, pyramids and parthanon (+100% GP birth rate... too good... really useful to spam golden ages, get to modern age and have 30'000 gold, Universial sufagae + theology and vassalage 4 turns later you have one huge experinced army, add the pentagon for extra fun)

But this tactic can get me in alot of trouble as i don't chop rush, mainly because i love the trees.... (hippies...) so alot of my cities start falling behind with the normal buildings and my score sucks.
I always try to get every religion possible and mess around in diplomacy. It's amazing how many wars can be started for 100 gold. Yes keep them fighting between themselves, get them weak get a tech advantage and then go for the win.

pah but i'm not all that good at the game, i forget stuff all too often and mess up all too often... I'm just a noob really.

You seriously never build catapults or warriors? You arent a very good player.
Ok, firstly, I didn't say I was a good player. Now in what way does not using Catapults or Warriors make good play unattainable? Warriors especially. I will probably never ever build a Warrior. Considering I don't usually start early wars, I never have any need for catapults.

I have built cannons sometimes, but by the time I attack, they're completely pointless as I have ships work on coastal cities, and because I didn't start an early war and concentrated on science and expansion, my land units are vastly superior (e.g. the last game I finished I had tanks against macemen) so the city defense is near useless for them anyway.

As for artillery, stealth bombers make them completely obsolete.

Always found a religion or quit in a huff.
Never buid forts or explorers (did each one time - it was enough).
Always start a war ASAP.
Always turn off the music after entering the Modern Era!
Never play more than 16 hours in one day, unless my wife is out of town.

I don't know why a few of you don't build Broadway, Hollywood, Eiffel tower and some of the wonders, I find them useful. even though the other wonders might not be that useful, I find that the culture generated by them helps.




As one who said he doesn't....

- My choice of builds is always dependent on the type of win I'm after.
- These wonders simply come too late.

If I'm warmongering, they provide me no value. Besides, if I am warmongering reasonably well, I'm finished long before these techs are discovered (that's also the reason I said I almost never discover oil... nothing against oil, but I'm usually done by then).

They may be mildly interesting for a culture win, but again, they are too late. Before these techs come up, you should have all of your cathedrals built and your culture slider to the max (hence, science shut off).

For spaceship, they seem like a distraction from the real goal of maximum science and production of spaceship parts. However, to be fair, I've only tried spaceship once or twice, so maybe I'm missing something.

One last thought, I tend to play at higher levels... pretty hard to get any wonders before the AIs. :crazyeye:


/edit : Oops, forgot all about diplomatic wins! Shows how much I play for it! I have zero experience to draw from there!

Straying slightly OT, but;

I have found that those late game cultural wonders will help offset a circumstance where you just didn't get an adequate number of religions within your empire.

The type of game I envisage is an ocean-locked island start, where maybe you've founded Hinduism and Confucianism, but have struggled to get several other religions to seep over. Relying on Cathedrals, GF Farms, and the Culture Slider just might not be quite enough to get you comfortably over the line, especially if you're feeling threatened by a maniac and need to keep researching. Broadcast Towers with R&R / Broadway/ Hollywood could be a feasible option.

Always
-use my first warrior to explore and then steal a worker from the civ with the highest score or my first future axeman target.
-attempt to get the oracle
-lose on monarch

Always turn off the music after entering the Modern Era!
:goodjob: ...my god it can get annoying...

Never play more than 16 hours in one day, unless my wife is out of town.
So just to keep it in moderation then :rolleyes: ...do you not have to work?

Ok, firstly, I didn't say I was a good player. Now in what way does not using Catapults or Warriors make good play unattainable? Warriors especially. I will probably never ever build a Warrior. Considering I don't usually start early wars, I never have any need for catapults.


here you have it!
early war is a must for good play (imho and from what i read in the forums)